Master of Business Administration

In recent years the MBA degree has become the foremost academic qualification for managers. Academics and industrialists alike have recognised the value of the degree in developing staff for the challenges of the rapidly changing business environment. Research has shown that the award of the MBA assists the personal development of managers, as well as benefiting their career and professional life.

One of the strengths of our MBA programmes is the diversity of programme members’ backgrounds and experiences. The range of functional, professional and vocational skills and knowledge that participants bring to the programme allows the lecturing faculty to test the validity of theoretical concepts against a rich background of personal and organisational outlooks.

The programmes encourage individuals from all walks of life, and from all organisational and working backgrounds. Engineers, accountants, legal practitioners, those in the caring professions and other technically-based professionals, can all benefit from the experience of the MBA. Indeed, the programme is rooted in the belief that the wider the range of programme members’ backgrounds and experiences the more it aids the learning process.

Mode of attendance

The University of Plymouth MBA programmes at Greenwich School of Management can be studied by attendance in the following modes:

• Daytime - 12 months full-time or 24 months part-time
• Evening - 24 months part-time

Full-time programmes are conducted between Monday and Friday, during the day. Part-time programmes are conducted at two daytime or evening sessions per week.

Pathways

MBA Strategic Management

The MBA with a strategic management pathway is the classic, traditional MBA that is well suited to professional managers who want to gain an insight into the working of the various functional areas of management across the organisation. It suits those who are looking to further their careers either in their present area of expertise and professional competence or who are looking to change career path or to venture into consultancy.

The main philosophy of the programme is that management can be taught as a unified body of knowledge, applicable to any business organisation.

MBA Financial Management

The management of financial affairs has always played a major role in the success and sustainability of organizations in the private sector and, increasingly, in the public sector.

Specialists in finance and accounting are now expected to combine their expertise in these functions with an appreciation of the constraints and issues concerning other areas of the organization. In so doing they are required to understand how financial aspects impact upon other elements of the business.

The Financial Management pathway aims to promote a comprehensive understanding of how the role of the financial specialist fits with strategic decision-making and problem-solving in organizations and to develop an organisation-wide perspective among these specialists in order that they can best serve the long-term objectives of organisations. Course members are encouraged to develop analytical skills within the context of financial and strategic management and to focus on the interrelationship of financial management problems and tasks.

MBA Human Resource Management

The management of people within an organisation is considered a strategic function rather than the responsibility of one particular functional area of the organisation. Managers with the responsibility for staffing and personnel are having to adopt a more strategic approach to the issues of people in the organisation. The recruitment of the right people for the right job and the continual training and development of individuals to ensure their effectiveness within the organisation are strategic issues which concern both specialists and general managers as a whole.

The Human Resource Management pathway aims to promote a comprehensive understanding of how the human resource management role fits into the overall strategic decision-making and problem-solving functions of the organisation. Course members are encouraged to develop an organisation-wide perspective and to develop analytical skills within the context of human resources management and to focus on the interrelationship of human resource management problems and tasks.

MBA Marketing

The MBA option specialising in Marketing Management provides an opportunity for graduates (or those with advanced professional qualifications) to develop strategic management skills and to obtain an advanced qualification in this field.

The Marketing pathway aims to promote a comprehensive understanding of the role of marketing management in consumer, industrial markets and service industries in addition to developing problem-solving and decision-making capabilities in these fields. The purpose of this is to develop a critical and analytical approach to marketing managers’ tasks within the context of the organisation as a whole.